The commercialization of sociological research: on the how and why (not)

ABSTRACT

Recent budget cuts in academia and the spread of neoliberal thought has put pressure on sociology. Unlocking new funding sources is a major concern for sociologists and focusing on funding from the market is a prominent suggestion. Such funding can be generated through research commercialization, that is, developing research findings into products and services that can be sold on the market. This study explores how a commercialization of sociological research can be achieved, and what advantages and disadvantages it has. Methods are expert interviews and participant observation. Findings show that a commercialization of sociological research can be achieved through studies on companies or products, and through the participation in multidisciplinary research projects. The proponents of commercialization are mainly university administrations, consultants, and economists, who see advantages in the acquisition of funding and the improvement of products. The adversaries of commercialization are sociologists, who find a commercialization antithetical to their disciplinary identity, have ethical concerns about aggravating social problems as a side-effect, and fear for their academic careers. In conclusion, a commercialization of sociological research needs to proceed circumspectly, considering that it could internally erode the discipline of sociology.

KEYWORDS:

• Sociology
• research commercialization
• funding
• university reforms
• scientific discipline

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank Sue Scott, Jonas Radl and Lauri Leukkunen for their helpful comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Kathrin Komp is an assistant professor in sociology at Helsinki University, Finland. She specialized in research on population ageing, life-courses, welfare policies, forecasting, and research methods. Recent publications include an article entitled ‘Shifts in the realized retirement age: Europe in times of pension reform and economic crisis’ (forthcoming in the Journal of European Social Policy) and a co-authored article entitled ‘Population ageing in a lifecourse perspective: Developing a conceptual framework’ (published 2016 in Ageing and Society). Komp is on the executive committee of the European Sociological Association.